Women Read More Than Men, But We Don’t Know Why

NPR explored the statistical fact that women read more than men in a September 5, 2007 article. According to a recent AP survey, a typical woman readers nine books a year compared to five for men. In every category but history and biography, women outpace men in reading and buying books.

The article provides anectodotal evidence and a number of theories to explain the why of it but there is no concrete reason. Some experts see the gender disparity begin at youth. Louann Brizendine, The Female Brain, posits that young girls can sit still for longer periods of time than boys. Another theory opines that the “mirror neurons” that enable individuals to emphathize are in greater abundance in the female brain than the male.

Whatever the case may be, women read more than men and therefore, marketing departments, which are largely male, should start getting in touch with their feminine side. (Also why the Kindle will fail to be successful. That thing is uglier than an one eyed, hunchbacked vampire who hasn’t eaten in 10 days).

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Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She self publishes NA and contemporaries (and publishes with Berkley and Montlake) and spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty.
You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

Comments

RfP has pointed out that the author of the NPR article “relies on a discredited book and several studies that simply examine gender-stereotype-based assumptions” and she’s discussed the article in considerable detail, pointing out its shortcomings.

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